DO ONLINE COURSES SPELL THE END FOR THE TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITY?

“Publishing, music, shopping, journalism – all revolutionized by the internet. Next in line? Education. Now US academics are offering world class tuition – free – to anyone who can log on, anywhere in the world, is this the end of campus life?

By: Carole Cadwalladr

Published: The Observer; 11 November, 2012; observer.co.uk. Alternatively, just google the title and writer’s name.

Level of Difficulty: ***

BEFORE YOU READ

1.       What is the role of universities? Is it just to provide training for a future job or is there more? If so what?

2.       To what extent are universities responsible for teaching social skills?

3.       Read the title. What do you think the advantages of online courses might be?

4.       What do you think the disadvantages might be?

5.       What future do you see for online tuition at university level?

QUESTIONS

1.       What did Sebastian Thrun hope to avoid by mass producing the driverless car?

2.       In paragraph 4 of the text, Thrun is reported to have said “This is the future. I am absolutely convinced of it.” What was he referring to? Be explicit.

3.       Which sentence best summarizes the information in paragraph 7?

4.       What aspect of the Khan Academy inspired Thrun?

5.       What difference was observed between the regular students of CS221 and the online ones?

6.       Is the market response to Udacity positive or negative? How do you know?

7.       Although the first example of online education was launched in the UK, this service is a poor alternative to Udacity because ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

8.       In what way is Coursera different from Udacity?

9.       Why does Koller say “This is a whole sale change in the educational ecosystem”?

10.   What does “it” refer to in the phrase “so I don’t think it is realistic”?

11.   Were the writers' Coursera classmates as nonchalant about the course work as he was? How do you know?

12.   How would a disillusioned teacher benefit from Coursera?

13.   What exactly is a Google hangout and how popular is it with the students?

14.   What are the current disadvantages of online courses?

15.   Which of these disadvantages are now on the road to being addressed?

16.   What is it that has made Coursera, Udacity and edX so very popular?

17.   What dilemma has caused all these online courses to emerge at this particular juncture?

18.   What aspect of university education in the UK is changing due to rising tuition?

19.   What aspect of regular universities will Udacity and similar projects never be able to compete with?

20.   What long term benefit are universities that have made deals with Coursera probably expecting?

21.   What does the sentence “There isn’t” refer to? Be specific.

22.   Atioch College is an example of a university supporting …………………………………………….

23.   What advantage does the Minerva project have over Udacity?

24.   Read the last paragraph of the text. What is the writer implying? Use your own words.

WRITING TASK

After checking out some videos on the subject and making notes, write an essay discussing the advantages and disadvantages of online universities and courses. Remember in this type of essay there is no arguing for or against the issue; this is the current trend for better or for worse. What you can do is state the current situation, point out drawbacks and discuss what the future will bring. Use the points below:

THE ADVANTAGES

1.       Democratizing education on a global scale. ( Tuition is free; you can take whatever course you like whenever and wherever you like; you can supplement course work at a regular university, get a second degree)

2.       Really motivated students take part ( Richard, Sara, Maria and Aline)

3.       Students cover the same content as regular students

4.       The number of humanities courses is increasing with peer assessment techniques.

5.       One university in the US has announced that it will issue credit for online courses

THE DISADVANTAGES

1.       Less interaction, no hands on lab environment

2.       Poor substitute for face to face feedback from an expert in the field

3.       A preponderance of technical subjects

4.       You don’t get a degree, just a certificate in pdf form

5.       No real life interaction so no opportunities for the acquisition of social skills regular universities provide.

DO ONLINE COURSES SPELL THE END FOR TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES? KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This informative text discusses the very latest in higher education and outlines a wonderful new trend, which I think will be very interesting for university students or for anyone else who is into learning for its own sake. The possibilities are endless and I was enthralled as I am sure you and your students will be. I would suggest you ask them to seek out videos and make notes before coming to class to give you time to do the writing task in class.

1.       Traffic accidents

2.       Massive online education free to all

3.       University, of course, is about so much more than teaching

4.       The fact that Khan has 3.400 short videos or tutorials, most of which Khan made himself, and 10.000 students.

5.       All the 400 who got top marks were those who had done it online

6.       Positive; a bunch of companies, including Google, are sponsoring Udacity courses and regularly cream off the top scoring students and offer them jobs.

7.       From this year, fees are 5000 pounds.

8.       While Udacity is developing its own courses, Coursera is forming partnerships with universities to offer existing ones.

9.       Because the site had a million users faster than Facebook , faster than Instagram.

10.   Reaching a billion students across the globe in a decade.

11.   No; the traffic on the class forum is astonishing. This is the shortest answer because it is the topic sentence. Otherwise you would have to copy the whole paragraph.

12.   By working with people who just want to learn.

13.   It is where a limited number of people can talk via their web cams. It is very popular.

14.   A. You don’t get a degree out of it; B. There is a preponderance of technical and scientific subjects; C. Less interaction, no hands on lab environment

15.   A and B in the answer to the previous question.

16.   Regular universities are a lot of money. You can’t say “It is a lot of money”. What is “It”?

17.   There is an enormous global need for high quality education. And yet it is becoming increasingly unaffordable.

18.   Students, whether they like it or not, have turned into consumers. The following sentence is an alternative answer so long as you make it negative.

19.   The things students learn from fellow students. Intangible benefits is far too vague as an answer; it begs an explanation and when you find this is the case, there is always a better alternative.

20.   A cut when Coursera starts charging for a certificate of completion.

21.   There is no substitute for having a conversation with someone who has worked on a subject  his whole life.

22.   Blended models.

23.   Encouraging its students to live together in dorm clusters so that they’ll benefit from the social aspects of university life.

24.   Possible answer: that university education will change radically